For a couple of weekends now, I’ve been happily waking up to a lightly bright room. The sun shyly peeks through my curtains and I can’t help but start my days smiling!

Stepping on my balcony still in slippers, I love inhaling the smell of freshly cut grass and flowers showing their crazy beautifulness in my backyard tree.

Spring brings newborn sunshine, late afternoon thunderstorms and starry nights out, or to put it simply, a lot of things that I adore. With its arrival, I store my obsession for soups and stews far away in my freezer and bring out my creative salad-making skills! While you can read my last summer’s salad inventions here, here and here, get ready for a whole new delicious one below!

The Spring Veggies Salad Bowl

Serves 3

Ingredients for the salad

1/2 cup of barley

A handful of baby tomatoes

3 peeled carrots

Your favourite salad: roquette, baby spinach…

1 cinnamon and paprika sweet potato (baked)

1/3 cup of sunflower seeds

1/2 cup of raisins

1/2 avocado

Ingredients for the dressing

The juice of a lime

2 tablespoons of tamari

3 tablespoons of olive oil

Pepper to taste

Instructions

Pre-heat the oven to 400F.

Wash the sweet potato and cut it into chunks. Place your sweet potato chunks onto a baking tray and cover with olive oil, 1 tablespoon of paprika and 1 tablespoon of cinnamon. Mix it all together. When your oven is ready, bake for about forty minutes, and make sure to turn them over halfway through so that they are evenly cooked.

While the sweet potatoes are on the go, bring 1 1/4 cup of water to a boil. Once it is boiling, pour the barley into the water and simmer for 40 minutes.

Once your potatoes and barley are cooked, let them cool for a little while before mixing with the rest of the ingredients.

Peel your carrots into long slices, chop your tomatoes and avocados. Mix all salad ingredients together, then add your cooled potatoes and barley and generously cover with the salad dressing.

I love waking up in the darkness every morning and watching the sun rise as I prepare my warm water with lemon. I love going out in the crisp fresh air and breathing in the new day while walking to the metro station. And after a good day of work, I love coming home and cooking something warm and homy. It allows me to unwind and disconnect from my day.

Recently, I’ve been pretty busy and I feel like I rush more, and I’m having a harder time completely disconnecting from everything I have to do to truly enjoy cooking and eating.

Yesterday, I went for a swim after work and while walking home under the heavy rain, feeling amazingly good (because that’s how swimming will make you feel!), I weirdly just wanted to eat warm, comforting oatmeal. So I cooked this super simple oatmeal recipe in 15 minutes and accompanied it with a green bean salad. Then, I sat down to eat while pinning inspirational fall photos and reading the latest news online and felt peaceful and super happy.

Here is my version of happiness in a bowl for 1 (make the quantities vary according to your hunger level):

1/3 cup Oatmeal

2/3 cup Water

Frozen blueberries

Maple Syrup

Walnuts

Bring water to a boil and add the oatmeal, reduce the heat and cook for 10-15 minutes (follow the cooking instructions on your oatmeal box).

When you’re done, add as many blueberries, chopped walnuts and maple syrup as it makes you happy!

On the side, I prepared this simple salad. Just mix all ingredients together:

Kale

Black beans

Chopped cucumbers

Maple Syrup

Olive Oil

Black Pepper

It was my perfect fall dinner, if you can call that a dinner. Who decided what a dinner needed to look like anyways, right? Always eat what you’re body tells you will make you feel happy!

While Gabrielle is usually the salad expert, here is one of my favourite express recipes to add some greens to my meal!

If any of your relatives are into canning, chances are you’ve received some marinated beets as a gift. It’s sometimes difficult to know what to do with these beets and how to serve them in the Summer. Here is the recipe to an easy salad filled with fresh herbs from the garden! This recipe isn’t a meal in itself as it lacks protein, you could add some Pork Tenderloin if you wanted to make it a dinner recipe.

Express Beet Salad

Yields 2 servings

You’ll need:

5 Marinated Beets

1 small Iceberg Lettuce

1/2 cup Fresh Herbs

2 tbsp Olive Oil

2 Green Onions

1 tsp White Balsamic Vinegar

1/2 Lemon

Cut the onions and fresh herbs and place them in the salad bowl. I used the herbs I have on my balcony : Parsley, Basil and Sage.

Cut the beets into slices and add to the mix.

Cut the lettuce into thin layers and add to the bowl.

Mix the Olive Oil, White Balsamic Vinegar and Lemon Juice from your lemon together. Poor onto the salad and top off with salt & pepper.

Are there any ingredients you’d like to have a little inspiration using? Let us know in the comments!

Summer is going by so fast! Nevertheless, we must enjoy every single lasting bit of it before it ends. Make an end-of-summer bucket list! Whether you want to attend a yoga class in the park, go away to a lakeside cottage for the weekend or read the book that’s been sleeping on your nightstand, write it down and do it!

I wanted to share with you my last simple summery salad before the season ends. This one is creamier than the other two salads (discover them here if you haven’t already) because of the yummy mix of Israeli couscous, French lentils and Dijon mustard. So it will satisfy your taste buds during the cozy-homy fall season as well.

Creamy Cherry Tomatoes and Zucchini Salad with Dijon Vinaigrette

Serves 3

Ingredients:

– 1 cup of French lentils

– 1/2 cup of Israeli couscous

– 551 ml of cherry tomatoes

– 2 zucchinis

– Pumpkin seeds

– Sunflower seeds

– 2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

– Salt and Pepper to taste

Directions:

Put the French lentils in 3 cups of water, bring to a boil and let simmer for about 20 minutes.

While the lentils are boiling, start cooking the Israeli couscous. Bring 1 cup of water to a boil and then add the Israeli couscous. Bring back to a boil, lower the heat and simmer for about 10 minutes.

While you wait, chop the zucchinis. Then sauté them for 5 to 10 minutes in a skillet with a bit of oil, salt, and pepper.

Chop the cherry tomatoes in half.

When everything is ready, mix the French lentils, Israeli couscous, zucchinis and tomatoes with the pumpkin seeds and sunflower seeds. Add your dijon mustard.

Enjoy the yumminess of this salad, and most of all…enjoy the end of you summer!

This summer, my boyfriend and I are dealing with the pain of not owning a barbecue. While those who’ve never had one might not understand my struggle, I think every barbecue owner can understand the joy of having this precious appliance in the summer because…

No one wants to use the oven when it’s 30 degrees celsius in their apartment.

No one wants to cook inside when it’s bright and sunny outside.

No one wants to do the dishes in the summer!

But enough with the ranting!

In order to counter this problem and do something fun in the kitchen, I decided to make some homemade pasta! It was super simple and delicious!

You’ll need :

3 eggs

2 1/2 cups of flour

1 tablespoon of olive oil

1 tablespoon of water

Salt to taste

Such simple ingredients!

Funny-looking pasta in the food processor

Pasta dough resting

Going in the pasta maker!

Our very original way to dry the pasta...

The final yummy result!

Such simple ingredients!

Funny-looking pasta in the food processor

Pasta dough resting

Going in the pasta maker!

Our very original way to dry the pasta...

The final yummy result!

Step 1.

Mix the wet ingredients together with a fork.

Step 2.

Add the wet ingredients to the flour in a food processor. Pulse until the dough starts to form.

Step 3.

Remove from the food processor and use your hands to form a dough.

Step 4.

Cover with plastic rap and let stand at room temperature for 30 minutes.

Step 5.

Use a pasta machine or dough roller to flat out the dough. It needs to be very thin. Then cut the dough with a pasta cutter, so it gives the right form : fettucini, linguini, etc.

Step 6.

Cut the pasta with a pasta cutter.

*this is the tricky part it’s extremely hard to make the pasta thin enough without the proper equipment.

Once your pasta is made, use immediately cooking 2-3 minutes or put it in the fridge for up to two days. You can also freeze it if you want!

Now, to make the Fresh Pesto…

At least half a cup of basil leaves

1/4 cup of olive oil

Pine nuts to taste

Salt and pepper to taste

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and mix until the texture suits you. Be sure to add some basil if you want it to be tastier.

To cook up the Pesto Chicken Pasta, I mixed the Pesto with some leftover chicken and added to the freshly cooked pasta. Topped off with some Parmesan the result was simply delicious!

This salad is my go-to fruity-spicy mix and is super simple to make. In 10 minutes, you’ll be ready to taste!

If you like spicy thai flavored tuna and dream of mixing it with something sweet, you’ll love this salad. The best thing about it is that the spicy tuna has so much flavor that you won’t even need to make a dressing or add extra spices. Isn’t that time saving enough for you?

So grab a couple of mangoes and cherry tomatoes at your local market and enjoy this tasty salad!

I’ve been creating healthy salad recipes for about three years now because of course, I can’t get enough of their freshness, but mostly as a result of bad stomachaches I got from eating heavy foods such as pasta, cheese, bread and meat. Before I changed my diet, I felt bloated after most meals and got cramps very often. When I changed what I ate, the stomachaches magically disappeared, which changed my relationship with food and made me love it even more!

While I still indulge in sweet treats, have a good steak at my parents’ house on Sunday nights and eat pasta, bread and cheese at the restaurant, I always balance those heavier meals with healthy soups and salads and nutty snacks at home. I now find myself craving plant-based proteins such as lentils, beans, nuts, quinoa, you name it!

Since summertime is perfect salad time (hello easy picnic option!), I thought I’d share with you 3 of my salad inventions over the next few weeks. This first one is so fresh because of all the veggies, yet comforting because of the feta cheese. The Pearl Harvest Couscous is also so delicious and so chewy! It is a mix of Israeli Couscous (that I can’t get enough of!), Italian Orzo Pasta, Baby Garbanzo Beans, and Red Quinoa.

On Valentine’s Day I decided to ditch my boyfriend for the day to take some pictures with Gab for the blog. However, being the girl that I am, I prepared a yummy supper before I left so I was sure he’d forgive me! A win-win!

After trying a few Osso Buco recipes, I decided to take the best of all of them and create a new one I would adore!

Sarah’s Osso Buco for 4

What you’ll need:

2 Carrots

2 Celery Sticks

Shallots or oignons

I only had half an onion left so I used shallots instead, but onions would be great as well.

2 Garlic Cloves

1/2 Cup of Wine – Red or White

3 Whole Moose Shanks

Okay I forgot to mention my boyfriend hunts – Moose Shanks can’t be found at your local grocers so you can use Veal or Pork. I think Pork would be better since the sauce is quite tasty.

756 ml can of Diced Tomatoes

1/2 Cup of Port

Parmesan

Parsley

Grated Orange

Egg Pasta

While the recipe has a lot of ingredients it is super easy to make!

Chop up your onions & garlic and heat them up in some Olive Oil.

Remove the onions from the heat and heat up each side of your shanks.

Once they are browned, add your wine and let it enter the meat.

Remove the shanks from the heat.

Place the onions, the meat, the vegetables, the tomatoes and port in an oven-ready dish.

Heat it up at 275 F for at least 2h 1/2 or until the meat is tender.

Serve on the pasta with a gremolata made of parsley, orange zest and parmesan.

Voila! The best part is you can prepare this in advance leave it in the fridge and heat it up a few hours before supper!

Let me know whether you want to try this and what you’d add to the recipe!